Deciding to cut my hair into a pixie before my sophomore year of high school may have been the best hair decision I’ve ever made. Not because it looked good — it looked pretty okay — but because I finally got the chance to learn how to take care of my hair.
When I was a toddler, I had little ringlet curls that, for whatever reason, fell pin-straight by the time I was four. I had pin-straight hair until I hit puberty. I don’t really know how curly my hair was at the time because I straightened it every day. After my freshman year of high school, I had had enough and cut my hair into a pixie.
Once my hair was in a pixie, it was clear that my ringlets were back. Fortunately, I had so little hair that learning to style curly hair after years of having straight hair was easier. I found products that worked for me and I had a cute little curly pixie cut for about a year. Then, one day I got a little trim to keep my pixie looking perfect, and I didn’t know it, but that was going to be my last haircut for a year.
The decision to grow out my pixie was more of a passive one. I hadn’t gotten a haircut in four months and I liked how it was growing out. My hair hadn’t been that healthy in years. Who knew that if you didn’t use heat on your hair it would be healthier? Not middle school me, that’s for sure. As it grew out, I began to adapt how I styled my hair. I learned how to scrunch my curls with my hand so they would air dry perfectly. I saw how nice my curls were coming in and I was ready to commit to growing my hair out. Little did I know I was in for a two-year process.
My pixie taught me how to style my curly hair and I was growing to feel confident with my hair. That was, until the mullet stage. Anyone who has grown out a pixie knows that you may have a mullet for a while. At this point, I really liked styling my hair and it was the main way I felt put together every day. So I began to accessorize my hair more, I had a flower crown and a headband that I loved. This made my mullet look more like a bob cut.
Eventually, my hair reached a length where I could put it up. I hated putting my hair up prior to the pixie. I think after not being able to play with my hair for so long, being able to do a half up half down look or just a simple ponytail was fun. It also meant I didn’t have to style my hair. I was shocked when I discovered that unless I did my hair, it would look messy. Hair up meant I could just go. So for the first time in my life, I chose to vary my hairstyle every day.
Finally, my hair was at a true bob length and I got my first haircut. With the sides evened out, you couldn’t tell I had a mullet a few months earlier. I didn’t see the real effect that having a pixie had on me until recently, though. Before I had cut all my hair off, I did not care enough to style it. But growing it out and getting to learn slowly made me fall in love with my curly hair. So, even though I faced a few months with some awkward shaggy hair, I’m so happy now with my long curls and all I can do with them.